Henselian Elements

Abstract

Henselian elements are roots of polynomials which satisfy the conditions of Hensel's Lemma. In this paper we prove that for a finite field extension $(F|L,v)$, if $F$ is contained in the absolute inertia field of $L$, then the valuation ring $\mathcal O_F$ of $(F,v)$ is generated as an $\mathcal O_L$-algebra by henselian elements. Moreover, we give a list of equivalent conditions under which $\mathcal O_F$ is generated over $\mathcal O_L$ by finitely many henselian elements. We prove that if the chain of prime ideals of $\mathcal O_L$ is well-ordered, then these conditions are satisfied. We give an example of a finite valued inertial extension $(F|L,v)$ for which $\mathcal O_F$ is not a finitely generated $\mathcal O_L$-algebra. We also present a theorem that relates the problem of local uniformization with the theory of henselian elements.